Authors:

Anima Mali

Abstract:

Basic education for girls enhances the process of social development and women’s empowerment. Inequalities and deprivation are faced by many children, and lives of young girls are more vulnerable. This is more significant in countries marked by unequal distribution of wealth and social inequalities of class, caste, ethnicity, religion and region. Gender is a cross-cutting category and societies with high inequality are typically marked by systemic discrimination against girls from marginalized communities. This paper attempts to explore the school participation of disadvantaged girl children of two marginalized remote villages of Dhuri and Kumrakhali of the Sundarbans region of West Bengal. The study of their participation has been approached in terms of access, enrolment, attendance, retention and educational attainment. It situates participation within various dynamics of the region like poverty, vulnerability and emerging communal political tension. Further, it also looks at how alternative income sources such as collecting small tiger prawn seeds (TPS) in the river and zari work available in the villages impacts elementary education of girl children in the selected villages. 

Keywords:

Poverty, marginalization, education, dropout, income

Vol & Issue:

VOL.13, ISSUE No.2, June 2021